Tag Archives: carrots

Boxing Day Turkey Rice

This was always the traditional left-over-turkey dish that was made in our home on Boxing Day. Mom would make Boxing Day turkey rice in the turkey roaster and it would fill the kitchen for a second time with the rich smell of roast turkey, stuffing, and sage.

Boxing Day is December 26th, the day after Christmas. It stems from the British tradition, followed in Canada, of giving gifts to the poor after Christmas (perhaps in the form of leftover food, I’ve always thought…just like this turkey rice made of all the table leftovers from our Christmas meal)

Ingredients

  • Shredded left-over Christmas turkey meat
  • Left-over turkey stuffing, crumbled or cut into small pieces
  • Left-over Christmas dinner vegetables, diced or chopped
  • 1 can kernel corn
  • 3 carrots, cubed
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 5 chicken livers, chopped (optional)
  • 1 T sage
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 T chopped parsley
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Rice (2-1 liquid-to-rice ratio )
  • Turkey broth from bones, plus left-over gravy
  • Water as needed

Preparing Boxing Day Turkey Rice

Remove meat from turkey bones. Boil up bones until a good broth is formed, the longer, the better.

In a large roasting pan, combine all ingredients except broth and rice. Measure out enough liquid (gravy mixed with turkey broth and, if necessary, extra water) to cover all ingredients in pan well. Add rice at a 2-1 ratio and stir it all together.

Cover with foil and place in a 350ºF oven. Bake for about 1-1/4 hours or until most of liquid is absorbed, then uncover and bake more (up to about 2 hours) until the top of rice is crusty and brown.

Carrot Bread

No one in our family was terribly inclined toward overly sweet desserts. Sweets were luxuries, not to be regularly partaken of. Mom’s and Grandma’s cakes and cookies were made more often of nutritious rather than decadent ingredients, with plenty of  nuts, poppy seeds, cottage cheese, and dried fruits rather than just sugar and flour.

It’s not surprising, then, that we  often opted for carrot bread  when we wanted a comforting snack or a satisfying breakfast: moist carrot bread with a touch of cinnamon, never too sweet, and laden with grated carrots and chopped nuts.

Carrots for carrot bread

Ingredients for Carrot Bread

  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup finely grated carrots
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Combine the oil and the sugar. Add the eggs and beat till fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Stir in grated carrots and nuts. Bake in oiled loaf pan at 350 F (180 C) for 55 to 60 minutes.

Loretta’s Carrot Cake

With cream cheese icing

  • 1-1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 1-1/2 t baking powder
  • 3/4 t salt
  • 1-1/2 t baking soda
  • 1-1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t nutmeg
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cups oil
  • 3/4 cups nuts, chopped
  • 2-1/2 cups grated carrots

Sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices. Add eggs and oil, nuts, and grated carrots. Stir well.

Pour into 9″ cake pan and bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Cool and top with Cream Cheese Icing (see below)

FOR THE ICING

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 t vanilla
  • 1 lb. icing sugar

Cream Cheese Icing:  Beat cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla and icing sugar.

Sauerbraten

A type of sweet and sour marinated beef; oh so tender and with a very special and distinctly-flavored sauce. Good served with cooked rice, noodles, potatoes, or dumplings of any sort.

  • 4 lbs. beef bottom round or rump, approx.

For Marinade:

  • 2 cups red wine vinegar
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 large sliced onion
  • 5 peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 whole cloves

For Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Marinate meat in fridge for 2 to 3 days, turning occasionally. Remove meat from marinade, straining and reserving marinade. Pat meat dry and dredge with flour. Brown in butter. Add 1 cup strained marinade, sugar, carrots, onion, tomato paste and salt.

Cook covered until meat is very tender (about 3 hours). Remove meat and force sauce through a sieve, and skim off fat. Add the sour cream, mix well and reheat. Slice the meat thickly and serve covered in sauce.

Gefilte Fish

Gefilte fish is poached minced fish appetizer popular on Jewish holidays but also eaten year-round.

Gert Cohen’s Gefilte Fish

  • 4 lbs. fish fillets
  • head and skin of fish
  • 5 onions
  • 4 t salt
  • 1-1/2 t pepper
  • 1 t sugar
  • 2 beaten eggs
  • 5-1/2 cups water
  • 3 T cracker meal
  • 2 sliced carrots

Grind fish and onion together. Place in wooden bowl. Add 2 t salt, 3/4 t pepper, sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup water and cracker meal. Chop well. Place head and skin of fish in pot. Add rest of onion, carrots, water, salt and pepper. Boil.

Shape chopped fish into 2″ balls. Drop into boiling broth. Cover and cook 1-1/2 hours. Remove fish balls. Strain and chill stock until jellied. Serve gefilte fish balls and jelly with horseradish.


Vegetarian Gefilte Fish

3 medium potatoes, peeled
2 medium onions, finely chopped
vegetable oil for frying
1 large eggplant
2 cloves garlic, minced/crushed
2 T chopped fresh parsley
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
paprika
matzo meal as required

Get the preparation instructions for vegetarian version of Gefilte Fish from http://www.jewishfood-list.com/recipes/fish/gfish/gfishveg01.html